Five key members of the hacker group LulzSec have today been arrested, with the revelation that the alleged leader of the group has been working for the FBI since mid-2011.

Hector Xavier Monsegur, a 28-year-old Puerto Rican living in New York and known by his nickname "Sabu", was reportedly charged with 12 criminal counts of conspiracy to engage in computer hacking and, according to documents unsealed in a Manhattan court on Tuesday, subsequently pleaded guilty to attacks on the websites of PayPal and Mastercard. According to The Guardian, charges were filed via a "criminal information" form, meaning that it is likely Monsegur has been cooperating with the government whilst maintaining the pretence of operating as an underground hacker. Following today's arrests, which included two British and two Irish hackers, it appears Monsegur may have betrayed them by turning them over to the FBI, presumably to secure a reduction in his sentence.

...

This could create a classic "problem-reaction-solution" situation, where the public reacts to the seemingly chaotic and threateningly anonymous hacking groups by accepting a government solution they may previously have resisted - stricter regulation of the internet. It would be grimly ironic if groups proclaiming to fight for internet freedoms were in reality being used as a tool - infiltrated and steered by the very intelligence agencies they have apparently attacked - to kill those very freedoms.

Following yesterday's revelation that a key figure in the hacker collective LulzSec had actually been working for the FBI since mid-2011, the release of alleged informant Hector Xavier Monsegur's court documents reveal that the FBI had even provided him with a server, onto which data was transferred by the hackers.

The 71 pages of the prosecution's indictment make multiple references to a New York server provided to Monsegur by the FBI, which he made available to other alleged LulzSec/Anonymous hackers for the transference of hacked data -- specifically, email data hacked from the private intelligence analysis firm Stratfor. It is this data which the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks has recently started publishing.

--- End quote ---

Thesis - Anti-thesis - Synthesis (problem - reaction - solution)

Sheesh...

It's deeply saddening to see, but at least it's out in the open now. I only hope that this kind of information gets to the broader masses of sheeple and that they wake up.

zridling:
I'm always suspicious of someone who invites me to "Hey buddy, want to break some laws?" It's like the 13-year old online soliciting you -- you know it's a cop, so run! If only they fought the criminals on Wall Street with one-tenth the resources they devote to these guys.

40hz:
I've said it before in other DC threads...unless you're willing to lose your life, or at least go to jail for what you're doing, you can't consider yourself a revolutionary. You're merely playing a game with yourself and other people's lives. And people who merely play high-stakes games with governments have this bad tendency to get other people hurt. Or worse.

I think the acid test to gauge somebody's real commitment to a cause is to see how susceptible they are to playing a logical + non-zero sum strategy in a game of Prisoner's Dilemma.

Looks like the FBI had Hector Xavier Monsegur figured out and called his bluff. He took the above option and turned in his friends. Much like many will do in a similar predicament.

Too bad for his compatriots however. It's all over for them except for their trials and sentencing. (I predict they'll all "cooperate" in the end to reduce their sentences. Further arrests will soon follow as a result.)

Here's a good Zen koan for would-be revolutionaries: What is the sound of one cell door slamming?

If the thought keeps you up at night rather than steeling you for what the the future likely holds in store for you - you're just kidding yourself about really believing in your cause. Because most governments are well-financed, have huge resources of equipment and personnel, have the general support of their people - and all the time in the world to run something to ground.

It's not so much a case of whether you'll get caught as when. So for a revolt to be successful, you need to mobilize as much widespread support as you can prior to the authorities finding and shutting you down.

That's the funny thing about a revolution. It isn't the revolutionaries who bring them off. They can only set the stage and possibly provoke the inciting incident. But unless the people (with a capital P) rise up, it's all to no avail. Because the only successful revolutions are the ones the general population ultimately embraces as their own and actively joins in on.

Better than 90% of all revolutionary actions end up either in a jail cell, on a scaffold, or before the wall.

Make sure it's really worth it to you. And above all, make sure you really believe.

Hector apparently didn't. :huh:

superboyac:
I've said it before in other DC threads...unless you're willing to lose your life, or at least go to jail for what you're doing, you can't consider yourself a revolutionary. You're merely playing a game with yourself and other people's lives. And people who merely play high-stakes games with governments have this bad tendency to get other people hurt. Or worse.

I think the acid test to gauge somebody's real commitment to a cause is to see how susceptible they are to playing a logical + non-zero sum strategy in a game of Prisoner's Dilemma.

Looks like the FBI had Hector Xavier Monsegur figured out and called his bluff. He took the above option and turned in his friends. Much like many will do in a similar predicament.

Too bad for his compatriots however. It's all over for them except for their trials and sentencing. (I predict they'll all "cooperate" in the end to reduce their sentences. Further arrests will soon follow as a result.)

Here's a good Zen koan for would-be revolutionaries: What is the sound of one cell door slamming?

If the thought keeps you up at night rather than steeling you for what the the future likely holds in store for you - you're just kidding yourself about really believing in your cause. Because most governments are well-financed, have huge resources of equipment and personnel, have the general support of their people - and all the time in the world to run something to ground.

It's not so much a case of whether you'll get caught as when. So for a revolt to be successful, you need to mobilize as much widespread support as you can prior to the authorities finding and shutting you down.

That's the funny thing about a revolution. It isn't the revolutionaries who bring them off. They can only set the stage and possibly provoke the inciting incident. But unless the people (with a capital P) rise up, it's all to no avail. Because the only successful revolutions are the ones the general population ultimately embraces as their own and actively joins in on.

Better than 90% of all revolutionary actions end up either in a jail cell, on a scaffold, or before the wall.

Make sure it's really worth it to you. And above all, make sure you really believe.

Hector apparently didn't. :huh:

-40hz (March 08, 2012, 01:02 PM)--- End quote ---Thanks. wise words.

wraith808:
Here's a good Zen koan for would-be revolutionaries: What is the sound of one cell door slamming?-40hz (March 08, 2012, 01:02 PM)--- End quote ---

I like that. And it doesn't just apply to revolutionaries. That's one of the main things they show on Beyond Scared Straight... when people come in and are friendly, they show how easy it is to turn them on each other.